Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Sports Coach Discretion topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee adopts amendment to preserve coaches' discretion, reports SB 470 to full Senate
Summary
The West Virginia Senate Education Committee adopted a conceptual amendment to Senate Bill 470 clarifying that interscholastic coaches retain discretion over a player’s participation after missing school-team practices or games, then reported the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.
The West Virginia Senate Education Committee on a voice vote adopted a conceptual amendment to Senate Bill 470 clarifying that nothing in the bill prevents an interscholastic coach from having final say over whether a student plays after missing a practice or game, then voted to report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.
Counsel Hank told the committee that SB 470 “prohibits a student athlete, coach, or athletic trainer from participating in non school sponsored events or activities as a condition for association with a school sponsored team” and that “a County Board of Education and the Secondary School Activities Commission cannot restrict or prohibit a student, coach, or athletic trainer from competing in a non school sponsored events or participating on non school sponsored competitive teams as a condition of being associated with a school sponsored extracurricular activity or sport.”
The bill prompted questions from multiple senators about coaches’ ability to require team-first commitments. The senator from Taylor offered a conceptual amendment intended to make explicit that “the interscholastic coach has … the final say” over whether a player who misses practices or games may continue to participate with the school team. Counsel and other members worked through language on the floor to ensure the proviso would protect a coach’s discretion on a player-by-player basis. The amendment was adopted by voice vote; the chair declared “the ayes have it.”
After adoption of the amendment, the vice chair moved that SB 470 be reported to the full Senate with a recommendation that it do pass. That motion was also adopted by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. The committee did not record any additional changes to the bill on the floor during the session.
Next steps: With the committee’s recommendation, SB 470 will proceed to the full Senate for further consideration.
